In the 2010 season, i saw Eagles use the tree & the territory, but i saw no use of the Nest.Did they nest elsewhere last year?Or did they just skip a year?They had one healthy looking eaglet in 2009.What will they do THIS season???

Here is Doug*s map of the Hornby nests, so that you can see where it is.

It started pouring down with rain last night, & it didn*t stop until 4pm this afternoon.So Dooki & i made a run for it with the bike.We biked to the Co op, which is a good distance to go.As we were approaching, i looked up at the Nest #24 tree.There were THREE Eagles perched on the curved top!!! Right next to the Nest Tree, another Eagle was perched at the tippy top of another tree! Across the road from these four was ANOTHER Eagle! Also perched at the tippy top of a tree.i could see mostly white heads, but it was getting dark, & i couldn*t see as well as i*d*ve liked to have.It looked like maybe one was an immature & one or two was a sub adult.Oh to have had my camera & some good light! They were all air drying their wings & tails.It was quite the sight!!

Nice to hear that the eagles are out and about! I loved being able to see them from our campsite when we were there. Thanks for the report, booni. I wonder if the eagles you saw are the "regular" nest 24 adults and "friends"?

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Okay, i keep meaning to report this!Almost every time i pass the corner from which i can view this Nest, there is an Eagle perched in the curved tippy top of the Nest Tree!Does this mean they are using the Nest this year & that maybe there are even eggs?Wren & i will investigate...

Booni had been dropping heavy hints about checking this nest, so today when I went to the Co-op I brought my camera along. This nest is tricky to see... but the other day as I was driving by, I spotted a possible observation point... Very far away, unfortunately.

So I started there. I took a look with the binoculars... and sure enough I could see the nest... far, far away... but I could see a spot of white on it! And that spot was moving!

So I decided to go down the road and try to find some little windows onto the nest between the trees. One of those windows was right in the middle of the road, right beside the Co-op store! and again I could see some white, moving! But in the name of public peace and order, I decided not to set up my tripod in the middle of the traffic.

So I walked down the little road toward the beach, and finally I found a good spot... except the light was glaring in from the wrong direction, so somehow all the shots ended up slightly out of focus. Oh well.At first I could see nothing. But I had heard a couple of short calls while I walked down the road, so I knew someone was still on the nest.Then I started seeing a bit of movement just below the rim of the nest... I took a couple of pictures and when I got home and enlarged them, I realised I'd gotten another eye shot!

Soon, the head of the adult eagle appeared over the rim. But even without magnification, I could tell something was unusual.So what is this: sub-adult colouring, stains from eating prey, a wound???

Two more small stains visible on the right side of the neck here... (They're more visible in my originals) But also, clearly, some fresh blood on the beak. In the previous picture you can also see bits of food attached to the beak. The movements were consistent with feeding... Most likely feeding Someone!

The other side of the head: whatever this is, it's symmetrical.

Another view, slightly better focused because her head is out of the glare:

Wren, in addition to the 'stains,' I noticed something else that is interesting about this nest. The stacking of the sticks/branches shows clearly. I'd like to post one or more of your photos in the Kids' Corner classroom area for the students to see.

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I returned to Nest 24 today. Mom was sitting high up on the nest tree. She'd had a bath and a preen, and she looked way better: no more red, no dark colour on her lores; still a bit dark under the chin.

The morning light was much easier to work with, so the pictures are also clearer.

Not very long after I took the previous photo, Mom started seagulling, just a brief call once in a while. Then she seagulled again, but more urgently and in rising tones... So I knew from watching Mom Hornby what this meant!

Quickly I focused my lens onto the nest... Just in time to watch Dad land home with a nice midshipman!

In this one he's shifted his prey to his right foot...

Dad is home! And what a handsome eagle he is.

(And what is that in front of him...? We'll get a better look in the next posting. )

ps: AJL - Eagle Eye has done it again. She spotted an eaglet in the last picture! If you click it to full size, and find the vertical stick that is immediately to the left of Dad's body, and look just to the left side of that stick between the weave of the nest, you'll see a tiny little eye peeing out!